Hello Masters,
In this week’s Bleat

  • From the desk of the President
  • Next Race – criterium at Stromlo Forest Park on Saturday 1 June from 1.30 PM
  • Race Report from Sutton Super Series round 2 – Ian Preston
  • Draft CRMCC Volunteer Policy
  • Upcoming races requiring volunteers
  • Membership message
  • Race calendar can be found here for other race dates needing officials


FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT

Since returning from two months of cycling and ski mountaineering adventures in the US, it’s pleasing to see that the Sutton Driver Training Centre kermesse series continues to attract our members, with over 88 riders participating across two dates so far. Thank you to the Race Committee and volunteers who have stepped up so far to keep things running.  The timing board which the club purchased has been on back order, and hopefully it will arrive in time to be used at SFP on 1 June.

I thought I would share my top tips for cycling-related travel in the US, and my experience is shaped by time spent in California and Nevada.

  • Don’t take too much gear over to start with, as there are large chains such REI, or Sports Basement that sell a much larger range of gear that you won’t be able to resist. Both of these stores offer member discounted prices of 10% off so it may be worth joining.
  • If you are unfamiliar with a city and want to get connected to bunch rides, many cities with a Rapha shop or a Rapha chapter will run shop or bunch rides and you don’t need to be a Rapha CC member to participate. See their website.
  • I had a few equipment issues, so it pays to stay in a place for more than a few days so that you can access your local bike shop and/or mail order spare parts when you need it.
  • If you using a bike bag or box, use the dead space to fill it with other clothes or kit. Suggest keeping those in plastic bags in case the bag or box is left out on the airport tarmac in rain. Yes, this happened to me in Hawaii.
  • Take at least a half frame bag with you as this can help carry all the extra kit so you can be prepared for all weather conditions and all day nutrition.
  • Make sure that you don’t pack sharp tools like Allen keys in your carry on as they will get confiscated. Pack your shoes, helmet, head unit, lights and kit in your carry on, in case your bike gets separated and at least you’ve got a set that you can use with a rental bike to hold you over.
  • Review your travel and medical insurance to ensure that you have appropriate coverage for cycling related activities, particularly gravel roads.

Conan

President

UPCOMING RACING

Winter afternoon criterium on Saturday 1 June from 1330 AEST

We require a marshal for the event to proceed, so if you can help the club and perform this role please email race.committee@crmcc.org.au.
Thanks to Dave Buckley for offering to be the race director for this event.

GradesTimeRace Duration 
E/F/G13:3045mins + 2 laps
A/C14:3050mins + 2 laps
B/D15:3050mins + 2 laps

Cost is $10, to register look up the event at https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar . Members must wear their CRMCC assigned race number to race. Late registrations will be assessed by Race.committee@crmcc.org.au and if allowed, a late fee of $10 will be applied.

If you are unregistered and show up to the start, you must convince a committee member (not the Race Director) of your club member financial status for insurance purposes, before being allowed to participate.

Race Committee

RACE REPORT – SUTTON SUPER SERIES ROUND TWO – IAN PRESTON

Forty three hardy souls turned up in cold and windy conditions for a bash around the Sutton Driver Training Centre. There was a 30k/hr southerly wind blowing down the straight, with riders hoping that they were racing in an anti-clockwise direction. But no, it was a head wind up the straight instead of the wished-for tail wind. 

E and F grades were first off the line. In F grade Lindsay Graham dropped Bob Miller early and gradually increased his lead until the finish. E grade had six riders including the tandem. For the first few laps, the tandem towed everyone up the straight into the wind. About mid-race it proved too much for the tandem and they were dropped. Eventually there was a lead group of three riders – Kevin Newhouse, Russell Marston and Cat Riley – swapping turns at the front for several laps until Cat was also dropped. Kevin managed to out-sprint Russell for 1st, with Cat coming in 3rd place.

Next up were A and B grades, with nine riders in A and eight in B.  At the end of the first lap, A graders Ben Morrison and Tristan Dimmock were off the front by 10 seconds and gradually increased their lead by 10 seconds each lap. The bunch couldn’t get their act together to chase effectively. In the end, Ben out-sprinted Tristan for the win. About 100 seconds later, Stu Griffiths out-sprinted the bunch for 3rd place.

B grader Craig Lindenmayer tried to break away for the bunch on lap one, but his effort only lasted for one lap. The B grade bunch rode together, with no one being keen on taking an extended turn on the front into the wind. With about 10 minutes to go, Nathan Monck managed to get a 15 second break. He was joined, a lap later, by Tristan Fuge and they stayed away with Nathan taking line honours ahead of Tristan and Ben McDuff coming in third.

C and D grades were up last. Having sat around watching the other grades, both grades seemed to have decided trying for a breakaway would be a waste of time and effort. Both bunches rode together in a civilised manner, dropping the occasional rider, until halfway up the straight on the last lap when it was on! Philip Lewington took the win over Stuart Roesler in 2nd and Bruce McMillan 3rd in C grade. In D grade, Simon Porombka took the win over Lance Purdon in 2nd and Chris Nolan in 3rd.

Thank you to Emma Padovan for marshalling, Simon Whitehead for first aid (thankfully not required) and David Parker for turning up early to make sure I didn’t forget anything important.

Ian Preston

Here are links to pictures of the event on Saturday courtesy of Ian Hutchings – https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACTVets/permalink/2150847735285610/ , https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACTVets/permalink/2150859611951089/ , https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACTVets/permalink/2150844178619299/ , https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACTVets/permalink/2150852888618428/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACTVets/permalink/2150856458618071/ .


DRAFT CRMCC VOLUNTEER POLICY

CRMCC is a volunteer club. The organisation and running of club events relies entirely on volunteer contributions to the club by its members. The Volunteer Policy seeks to balance the following objectives:

  1. the safe and efficient running of CRMCC races,
  2. the need for club members to contribute to the conduct of events in a fair and equitable manner, and
  3. efficient use of Club finances. 

To achieve these objectives, the CRMCC Volunteer Policy introduces or clarifies a number of initiatives to both encourage and incentivise volunteers.

Policy

All club members are expected to volunteer to perform the role of either Race Director, Marshal, ETC or Van Driver at least once per calendar year with the following exceptions:

  1. new club members (e.g. members for less than 6 months), or
  2. infrequent race participants (e.g. have not raced for more than 6 months, or
     
  3. by individual arrangement with the Race Committee.

Individual volunteer details, including the number of races completed since performing the last volunteer role, will be displayed on individual members’ RMS profiles as ‘REFEREE’.

Members can provide feedback on the proposed policy by emailing secretary@crmcc.org.au by Saturday 1 June 2024. Note this is a DRAFT policy so your thoughts are most wanted.

CRMCC Committee

UPCOMING RACES REQUIRING ROLES TO BE FILLED

The club has scheduled an individual time trial at Tharwa on 15 June 2024 that needs a race director, a marshal and a van driver.
The next round of the Sutton Super Series on 29 June requires a marshal and a van driver. Thanks to Craig Lindenmayer and Terry Danaher for stepping up to help run this race.

MEMBERSHIP MESSAGE

To renew your financial membership for 2024

Please carefully follow the instructions below to renew your racing membership for 2024 with the Capital Region Masters Cycling Club of the Australian Veteran Cycling Council Inc.

As previously stated, the annual racing licence for 2024 is $140, comprising $120 for the national component, and $20 club component for running races.

•             To start the $140 race licence process click here https://amc.helloclub.com/register?membership=657ed9ff637993bde7bcf446. This is for both new and renewing members

•             The membership system has moved to Hello Club from SportsTG, and your previous account credentials will NOT work with this system. You will need to create a new membership account, irrespective of how many years you have been a member of the club.

•             Do NOT sign in using a previous AVCC account, click CONTINUE.

•             Read and agree to the terms and conditions.

•             Sign up with email, Google or Facebook. Follow the prompts to enter your contact details and emergency contact details.

•             Pay $140 via credit card.

•             If successful, you will receive an email from ‘Australian Veteran Cycling Council reply+australian-veteran-cycling-council@helloclub.com’ to inform you that your registration has been completed.

•             Contact membership@crmcc.org.au if you have questions or if you encounter any issues.

Conan

CRMCC Club Membership Officer